


Fears Somewhat Faced

by donniedont



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fear, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Horses, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27510355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: Dedue pressed his lips, unable to conceal his confusion by such an invitation.  “A ride?” he asked, “As in… horseback riding?”Dimitri nodded his head.  “Yes, precisely.”Dedue took a shark breath.  “Your Highness, I thought we have discussed my… discomfort with horses.”Dedue finds himself in a situation that he can't quite get out of.  At least Dimitri and Sylvain aren't the worst company.  Written for the Fire Emblem Writer's Zine!
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Dedue Molinaro, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 19
Kudos: 36
Collections: Fire Emblem Writer's Zine





	Fears Somewhat Faced

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to the Fire Emblem Writer's Zine for letting me be a part of this project! I'm so happy that we were able to raise money for We Need Diverse Books, a cause near and dear to me!

It was easy to forget that the greenhouse was against the water. Dedue’s focus was always on the greenhouse itself, making sure to say hello to the manager, and tending to his plants. But for whatever reason, he turned his head toward the water, stopping short when he noticed how still it was.

It helped that it was a quiet moment for the waterscape. The man who sold fishing bait was closing up his stall, putting away his supplies as he whistled softly to himself. Cats were curled up on pilings and other surfaces, ears twitching occasionally. With most of the students eating dinner or enjoying their free time elsewhere, Dedue felt like he had found a way to escape Garreg Mach, even if it was for a moment.

He walked up toward the edge of the water, sitting down. He had gotten out of his uniform after he had eaten, no longer confined to the carefully tailored cumberbund and jacket that he grew tired of wearing every day. He grabbed the sleeves of his shirt, rolling them over his shoulder before he leaned back, taking in the scent of the water and an occasional floral note from nearby fauna. 

He closed his eyes, feeling something become tight in his chest. He had tasks to do. There were flowers that needed to be tended, yes, but there was an essay that needed to be written, a speech that he still hadn’t rehearsed as much as he should, and the inevitable search for Dimitri sometime after midnight to make sure he at least laid down, even if they both knew he wasn’t going to get any sleep.

His eyes snapped open, clenching his hands as if the tension would help keep his eyes open. When he was younger he was told that he took things too seriously. His mother would ruffle his hair before kissing his head and reminding him that whatever chore he was fixated on or meal he just burnt was not the end of the world.

But it was hard to not feel that way when he knew that he was a moving target for the gossip and eye rolls of any student or knight who gave into the conspiracy theories he was hoping could be disproven. He just wished it could happen sooner rather than later.

He heard footsteps come closer to him, the rubbing of metal against the pavers a sign of someone who was prone to dragging their heels. He turned his head, unable to resist smirking when he confirmed that it was Dimitri approaching him. He watched Dimitri stop next to him, adjusting the cape on his shoulder before he asked, “Have you been able to tend to your plants yet?”

Dedue shook his head. “Not yet,” he said, “I was resting my eyes.”

“Oh!” Dimitri exclaimed. He brought his hands toward his hair, pushing his bangs back. They fell in his face in approximately the same place. Dedue had learned when they were young that he had a smattering of cowlicks along the crown of his head. Dedue had tried to make a case for Dimitri to grow out his bangs, but he was stubborn. Dedue had brought it up twice before he knew it was nonnegotiable.

“Do you need anything, Your Highness?” Dedue asked.

Dimitri bit the inside of his lip before he shook his head. “No, no. It can wait!”

Dedue sighed. “Can you provide me context?” 

Dimitri’s ramrod straight posture finally slouched. He awkwardly latched his fingers together, holding his own hands before he said, “I wanted to ask something of you. Concerning tomorrow.”

Dedue looked down at the space next to him, tapping it. Dimitri nodded, scrambling down toward the ground and sitting down, keeping a respectful distance between the two of them. He cleared his throat and said, “I was wondering if you would accompany Sylvain and me on a ride tomorrow. We were hoping to explore a trail nearby.”

Dedue pressed his lips, unable to conceal his confusion by such an invitation. “A ride?” he asked, “As in… horseback riding?”

Dimitri nodded his head. “Yes, precisely.”

Dedue took a shark breath. “Your Highness, I thought we have discussed my… discomfort with horses.”

Dimitri looked away. “I know,” he said, “But… perhaps this is me acting selfishly, but I would like you two to spend time with each other.” He brought his hand to his hair again, pushing his bangs back enough times that they didn’t quite fall into place anymore. Dedue contemplated helping him, but he knew that it would be too intimate, even in this moment of solitude. “Sylvain is a far better teacher than I am concerning riding. I know he may not always look it, but he can be incredibly patient with these sorts of things.”

Dedue nodded. While his feelings toward most of the people from Faerghus were complicated, he could admit that he had a fondness toward Sylvain. He was one of the few people who did not mince words when it came to how he felt about the Tragedy, unflinching in his defense of Duscur and Dedue regarding it. He felt strong enough about him that he found himself defending his name, something he rarely felt confident enough to do for himself. 

That still didn’t quite comfort him with the fact that if he wanted to get to know Sylvain better, he would have to trust a creature that was scared of shadows to not kick him off. 

Dimitri knew this. He was prone to forgetting things sometimes, but he seemed to have a good enough handle on understanding that Dedue disliked riding. Judging by the way that Dimitri was refusing to make eye contact, there was certainly something else.

“May I be blunt, Your Highness?” Dedue asked.

The corners of Dimitri’s mouth twitched. “Your candor is one of the things I appreciate the most about you.”

Dedue turned himself more toward Dimitri. “I feel as though you are withholding something from me concerning this invitation. I appreciate your investment in my friendships, but…”

Dimitri sighed. He stopped pushing his hair, choosing to tug on it. Again, Dimitri felt the desire to reach out and loosen his grip. He still resisted, even if it made his chest ache. “I fear the gap between Sylvain and I is too great for us to spend time alone anymore,” he whispered, “And if Felix was there…”

The two of them were quiet for a moment, Dimitri appearing too fearful to finish the thought and Dedue having no interest in saying his unmoving opinion on Felix. That he was, for lack of better terms, a pain in the ass who did not understand the gravity of either of their pain. 

Dedue sighed. “I can come,” he said.

“Thank you,” Dimitri said, smiling. 

Dedue looked away, staring out at the water. It didn’t appear as smooth as when he sat down.

*

Dedue’s disdain toward riding ran so deep in him that he didn’t even have riding clothes. He chose to wear something comfortable, feeling foolish when he walked in on Dimitri and Sylvain in their crisp collared shirts and fitted pants, chatting idly.

Dedue stood in the doorway, observing the conversation. Sylvain appeared calm, his arms behind his head and his tone affable. Dimitri was trying very hard to mirror him, but failing. There was tension in his jaw and occasionally moving his hands in a way that made them look like claws before trying to relax them again. 

Dedue cleared his throat, waving his hand at them before immediately bringing his arms behind his back. “Good morning,” he said.

“Dedue…” Dimitri started.

“Hey, glad you could make it, Dedue!” Sylvain exclaimed. 

Dedue walked toward them, stopping short when he heard a horse snort. He looked around, gulping.

Dedue didn’t remember falling off a horse when he was younger. Apparently he had hit his head and all he could recall was his dad asking him if he wanted to go for a ride and being awake in his bed with his parents watching him wide-eyed. It was more than enough for him to never want to go back on a horse.

A horse whinnied and he jumped. Sylvain tilted his head as Dimitri cleared his throat. 

“So His Highness and I had to figure out a horse that you could fit on, but I think we found one,” Sylvain said, “Wanna check him out?”

“You found one?” Dedue asked. 

“We hope so,” Dimitri said quietly.

Sylvain led them toward the middle of the stables, gesturing toward one of the horses. “So I checked in with the staff, we can definitely take him out. His name is Parsnip.”

“Parsnip,” Dedue echoed. It was a cute name, but when he turned toward the horse the goodwill he was trying to build crumbled. The horse was massive. His eyes were too big, his nose was too long, his feet stomped against the ground with too much force. 

“Would you like to give Parsnip something to eat?” Dimitri asked.

Dedue turned toward him, his eyes wide. Why did Dimitri sound like he was so far away? Dedue tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like he couldn’t quite get enough air in his lungs. He backed up, realizing that too much he would bump into another horse, so he stood still, his arms uselessly raised.

He realized that he didn’t know where to look. With rows of horses taking up his vision on most angles and the alternative being having to look at the two people he certainly ruined the morning of. 

“Dedue, can you hear me?” Sylvain asked. 

Dedue slowly nodded his head. It wasn’t like he couldn’t hear him at all, so it was still the truth.

“If riding a horse freaks you out too much, we can do something else,” Sylvain said.

Dedue allowed himself to look at Sylvain. He searched for any disappointment in his face, but he appeared to be his typical self, an easy smile on his lips. 

“Do you mean that?” Dedue asked. He noticed Dimitri watching from several steps away, his eyes focused, but his body unmoving. Dedue knew that he would only intervene if he felt it was necessary.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t want you to do something that will freak you out, yanno?” Sylvain asked. 

“Then what would you suggest?” Dedue replied.

“Uh…” Sylvain started. He turned toward Dimitri, who appeared equally flummoxed. 

The three of them were quiet for a long moment, Dimitri even bringing his hand to his chin and rubbing it for emphasis. 

“So, like. Clarifying question,” Sylvan said, “Are you scared of riding horses or the whole horse?”

“Both,” Dedue said.

“Would you be up for trying to interact with the horse?” Sylvain asked.

Dedue glanced at Parsnip again. He frowned, quickly turning back toward Dimitri and Sylvain. “Maybe,” he said.

“All right, cool!” Sylvain exclaimed, “Uh, Dimitri, do you have any ideas?”

Dimitri eyed Sylvain for a long moment before he said, “I mean, there are always activities like… mane braiding and such. I don’t know how much I can patake, but it could be relaxing.”

“I haven’t done that stuff with Chastity in _ages_ ,” Sylvain said, “I would totally be down. How about you, Dedue?”

“They enjoy that type of thing?” Dedue asked.

“Yeah,” Sylvain said, “Promise.”

“Dedue, you were also such a careful braider the few times you did my hair,” Dimitri added, “I am certain any horse would be very happy with you braiding their mane.”

Dedue felt his cheeks warm up. He remembered it happening only once or twice, the two of them braiding each other’s hair with varying results. Somehow Dimitri always ended up looking much more put together then Dedue. He looked down at his own hands, smiling weakly before he said, “Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness.”

“Let me see if I can find any fun stuff we can put in Chastity’s mane,” Sylvain said, “Dimitri, you wanna take her out?”

“Sure thing,” Dimitri said. He fell into the routine of finding a lead and approaching Sylvain’s horse. Dedue had walked near her after several skirmishes and while he still refused to get too close to her, they at least had a tenuous rapport. 

“I’m sorry we tried to push you to ride like that,” Dimitri murmured, “I knew you were afraid of horses and refused to suggest otherwise.”

“You asked me if it was something I wanted to do and I said I would try,” Dedue replied, “You take my concerns seriously and I appreciate that.”

Dimitri nodded, opening up the stable door before he put a bridle on Chastity and clipped a lead into place. He waited for Dedue to step aside before he began to let Chastity out, Dedue following at his side furthest away from the horse.

“I found some stuff we can use!” Sylvain said, following behind them. He held a wooden box and opened them up, showing off spools of ribbon and bright beads.

Dimitri furrowed his eyebrows.

“Relax, I brought them from home,” Sylvain said, “Feel free to use whatever you’d like.”

“I think I’ll just keep holding the lead,” Dimitri said.

“Fair enough,” Sylvain said, “Hey, Dedue, why don’t you work on the mane, I’ll take the tail. We’ll see where we end up.”

Dedue slowly approached Chastity, relieved when Dimitri passed a comb toward him. Dedue took a deep breath, slowly running it through her grey mane. She appeared unbothered as he continued to brush her. He nodded his head as he continued to go through each section of hair, getting toward the end before he gathered handfuls and started the first braid.

“Do you have a vision?” Sylvain asked.

Dedue shook his head. “I think I’m going to just make simple ones and add some beads and tie off with a ribbon. Does that work for you?”

“Oh, yeah, that definitely works,” Sylvain replied.

“Perhaps I can help you by passing out supplies?” Dimitri asked.

“You could probably cut the ribbon if you want?” Sylvain asked.

Dedue bit his lip as Dimitri stammered, “Oh, no! I already destroyed Mercedes’s scissors…”

Sylvain’s eyes widened. Dedue couldn’t help but snort, remembering how he had to deal with the fall out after that incident. Thankfully, as distraught as Dimitri was afterwards, Mercedes found the whole situation hilarious, only wanting to tell Dedue, because she had to tell someone. 

“Well, I sure hope you replaced them,” Sylvain said.

“She wouldn’t let me,” Dimitri murmured.

Sylvain rolled his eyes, grinning. “Of course she wouldn’t.”.

The conversation began to flow easier between the three of them at this point. It was a welcomed change to be able to speak to the three of them as if they were all just students. There were no titles or customs they had to worry about when they were complaining about classes, exchanging snippets of gossip, or debating best combat techniques. 

When Dedue got to the end of the last braid and Dimitri passed him some beads and a ribbon, he found himself sad. While he knew that there was plenty he would have to get done for the rest of the day, he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the time he shared with Dimitri and Sylvain. 

“We should do this again,” he said quietly.

Dimitri smiled as Sylvain nodded his head. “I would love that,” he said, “I missed doing stuff like this.” 

Dedue slipped the beads onto Chastity’s mane and tied them off with a green ribbon. He admired his handiwork, jewel toned beads shimmering in the sun. He stepped away, taking a look at Sylvain’s efforts and nodding approvingly.

“You want to grab lunch after this?” Sylvain asked.

Dedue and Dimitri nodded their heads nearly in synch. Dedue tried to deny that he felt his heart swell at the prospect of this moment being able to continue.

“We would love to,” Dedue said, unable to conceal his smile.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Fears Somewhat Faced [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28755906) by [quoththegayven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quoththegayven/pseuds/quoththegayven)




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